We were eagerly waiting for it! Almost exactly 6 months after his victory in the kitchen of Top Chef 2023, Hugo Riboulet finally opens his street food restaurant in Paris. And he's not doing it alone, as he is accompanied by the brilliant Albane Auvray, eliminated in the 9th week of the competition.
But then what concept did the two accomplices choose for their street food restaurant? Goodbye to the hot dogs already tested by Thibaut Spiwack, the flat bread by Baptiste Trudel or the fried chicken like Mory Sacko, in their new address, Hugo and Albane have opted for... pies! An unexpected choice but one that seems to suit the two chefs who wanted a unique and never-before-seen concept in France. And guess what the restaurant is called? GROOT (the real ones know why, but if you don't know, we'll tell you at the end of the article*).
A pie bar by Top Chef
It's just a stone's throw from Les Halles, in a tiny place with only 10 seats and along a counter with a view of the open kitchen, where you can enjoy the pies of the two former contestants of Top Chef.Top Chef. If everyone has been trained in Michelin-starred restaurants, Hugo and Albane intend to offer here an accessible cuisine that highlights French terroir with seasonal ingredients.
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Why a pie bar ? Because the two chefs adore this dish, but they were tired of only finding it in upscale restaurants and not in street food. Albane, in fact, shone in the 5th week of the competition alongside the Best Craftsmen in France with her 100% vegetarian pie called "Walk in the Forest". We can also find it on the restaurant's menu.
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In the program, 4 savory and original pies: the Végé with candied citrus celery, sautéed brown mushrooms, porcini mushrooms and trumpets, smoked garlic cream and granny smith apple; the Iodée with large shrimp, fine Espelette pepper stuffing, burnt leeks, leek and ginger fondue; the Gourmande with smoked beef sausage from Maison Le Bourdonnec, potatoes, yellow wine onion compote and raclette from Savoie IGP; and finally, the Classique with yellow Landes chicken supreme, farm pig and veal stuffing, cabbage embeurrée, sautéed brown mushrooms, porcini mushrooms and trumpets. Expect to pay between €15.90 and €17.90 per pie, with an additional €1.50 for a comforting vegetable and onion juice.
Attention, they are offered in limited quantities every day!100% Vegetable Sides
To accompany all of that, GROOT also offers a whole array of delicious accompaniments ranging from €3.95 to €5.95; all sorts of different squash and cooked in various ways: beets and gribiche-style yogurt sauce with horseradish, grilled almonds; velouté Dubarry with chervil oil, pickled cauliflower ribs, kasha or even a layered salad of seasonal greens rolled up, rice paper and beet vinaigrette. It's a change from simple matchstick fries and, on top of that, we get a healthy dose of vegetables.
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As for desserts, we have the delicious nage de fruits de saison with verbena syrup (€4.95) or the heavenly tiraaamouss (€4.95).
(*) GROOT refers to the name of the "companion" onion that accompanied Albane throughout the Tof Chef season.
GROOT la Tourte
34, rue Saint-Sauveur – 2nd
From Tuesday to Saturday, 12pm to 4pm
More info.
